Simon, Jeanmonnot medal at the top in womens 15km Biathlon

Silver Medalist Lou Jeanmonnot of Team France, Gold Medalist Julia Simon of Team France and Bronze Medalist Lora Hristova of Team Bulgaria poses for a picture during the medal ceremony for the Women´s 15km Individual on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Anterselva Biathlon Arena on February 11, 2026 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)

France went gold and silver in the women’s 15 kilometer individual at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Wednesday. Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot, who won gold on Sunday as a team, won their medals respectively at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena. Bulgaria’s Lora Hristova held her own for bronze, besting challenges from Germany’s Vanessa Voigt, and Italian Dorothea Wierer. 

The 91 competitors did five laps around a three-kilometer course with four stops at the range to shoot five targets. Jeanmonnot and Simon won gold earlier in the mixed team relay, intent on doing well to make the podium each. The Italian, Norwegian, and German women would fight to make their place for medals, but shooting well would help immensely. 

France won gold and silver in the women’s 15-kilometer individual at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday. Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot, who won gold on Sunday as a team, won their medals at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena. Bulgaria’s Lora Hristova held her own for bronze, besting challenges from Germany’s Vanessa Voigt and Italy’s Dorothea Wierer. 

The 91 competitors completed five laps around a three-kilometer course with four stops at the range to shoot five targets. Jeanmonnot and Simon won gold earlier in the mixed team relay, intent on making the podium. The Italian, Norwegian, and German women were fighting to secure medals, and shooting well would help immensely. 

Simon was clean in her first visit to the range, coming out seconds faster than the leader on the first lap. Jeanmonnot arrived at the range 30 seconds before Simon and flew through it, besting her teammate’s first-lap time. Simon missed once in her second shooting, but kept her skiing pace fast against the others. Johansen remained dominant in the third range visit, besting the lead by more than ten seconds. Voigt also went 15-for-15, keeping Germany in the hunt with one visit to the range to go. 

Johansen went 19 for 20 on the last visit, leaving her time of 43:52 out of medal contention. Hristova went perfect in the last range visit, holding a massive lead and setting the bar at 42:20, something to beat. Voigt took her time and made sure she didn’t miss one target, leaving the range for the finish. She came in 12 seconds after the Bulgarian, leaving her with little hope of making the podium.

Simon was 14 for 15 in her third visit to the range, while her teammate Camille Bened was five for five in her visit. Simon went perfect, while Bened missed her last target, taking her out of medal contention. Simon crossed the range exit line 52 seconds ahead of Hristova, giving her a shot at setting a top time. 

The Frenchwoman arrived at the finish line at 41:15, besting Hristova by 64 seconds. Despite missing two targets, Jeanmonnot arrived to take second by 11 seconds, moving the Bulgarian back to bronze.